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A review by jscarpa14
Dance Upon The Air by Nora Roberts
3.0
My read count on this might be a bit low, because I know I've read it a few times over the years. It's the sort of book you hold on to because you enjoyed it enough that in a few years when the details are blurry again you can read it as if it were a brand new release and enjoy the magic again just as much.
That said my rating on this might also be a bit low because I didn't find this time as enjoyable as the others, possibly because I've read it too often and possibly because the way I think and look at the world might have changed over the years as it does for most people.
As always the book features Roberts trademark lyrical prose that reads almost like poetry, a trio of contrasting heroines and an interesting plot. These are all things that a fan of Roberts expects when opening one of her books and she never fails to provide.
I think my issues with the read this time was how much I noticed that appearance was a focus in this work. Not only for Evan, the stories villain but for the heroines themselves. Let me clarify what parts of this bothered me and explain why because I'm not saying I'm opposed to a scene where a man checks out a woman. That's a part of life, a realistic scene and depending on how it's experienced or written can be flattering, bring a smile to a person's face. When Zack takes a minute to appreciate Nell's ass before going over to assist her I smiled a bit, because it wasn't like he was whistling or catcalling, just appreciating to himself a sight he thought was enjoyable. The parts that bothered me were for example Mia's thoughts when she first meets Nell about how they'd need to clean her up. Or her comments later after they became friends where she asked Nell is she had a religious aversion to wearing makeup. I was going to quote that but I read this in hardcover and not ebook so it's not like I marked the page to later quote it in the review. Mia also makes a comment to Ripley asking her if it was difficult for her to choose between the white or the black dress because Ripley only owns two. Ripley doesn't really care for wearing dresses and I liked that about her character and while Nell does seem to enjoy clothing and makeup once she starts wearing it again I don't feel that the idea of doing so should have been forced on her by her employer. Both comments came across to me as catty and as a form of body shaming as if Nell or Ripley weren't good enough without makeup or extensive wardrobes. I don't think a woman should be judged or measured by her appearance especially by someone who's supposed to be a friend. I also don't feel a woman should be pressured to wear makeup or dresses if that's not her thing or something she does on her own. I think those are personal choices, all the power to those who want to spend the time on makeup and fancy attire, but it doesn't make another woman less so because she doesn't choose to spend her time that way or have an interest in partaking in what might be considered a feminine ritual. I'm pretty sure most of the makeup I own is long past the expiration date and I know pretty much all of it I bought was because of outside pressures telling me I should. It was never my thing so I don't like reading about a character receiving the sort of comments that I received in my own life that bothered me from someone who's not only supposed to be a friend but another of the heroines in this series. It's not very heroic to belittle the appearance of a friend or make an comment that sounds like they're not beautiful unless they're conforming to archaic social norms.
The second thing that I wasn't really digging this time as much as I did when I read this when I was younger is how new age the magic part of this story feels. It's not that I'm opposed to the witch as a character. I'm a big fan of kick ass witch with fantastic powers that they bring to a fight. I'm not as much a fan of scenes about which crystals and herbs apply to which desires. It's hard to explain. It's not so much that I'm saying that these scenes make the book bad, it's that I'm saying I just really wasn't feeling them and that's sort of a personal preference thing.
What I did like was Nell's story, how she escaped a frightfully abusive marriage and how she remade herself after being torn so low. The book has a lot of feminist commentary about how ridiculous it is to consider a woman's thoughts or feelings to be less than a mans among other things. I really loved that part of the story which is why the body shaming and focus on appearance bothered me that much more. I don't think I totally understand voicing opinions about one without understanding the issue with the other.
Overall it's a good book and most likely if you've never read this story before you won't even notice the little things that bothered me so much on this reading. I think maybe the fact that they did bother me so much is partially because since I've read it so many times I'm noticing little details and comments that I wouldn't have otherwise noticed. I do recommend the story despite my complaints listed above and I will be finishing rereading the rest of the trilogy.
That said my rating on this might also be a bit low because I didn't find this time as enjoyable as the others, possibly because I've read it too often and possibly because the way I think and look at the world might have changed over the years as it does for most people.
As always the book features Roberts trademark lyrical prose that reads almost like poetry, a trio of contrasting heroines and an interesting plot. These are all things that a fan of Roberts expects when opening one of her books and she never fails to provide.
I think my issues with the read this time was how much I noticed that appearance was a focus in this work. Not only for Evan, the stories villain but for the heroines themselves. Let me clarify what parts of this bothered me and explain why because I'm not saying I'm opposed to a scene where a man checks out a woman. That's a part of life, a realistic scene and depending on how it's experienced or written can be flattering, bring a smile to a person's face. When Zack takes a minute to appreciate Nell's ass before going over to assist her I smiled a bit, because it wasn't like he was whistling or catcalling, just appreciating to himself a sight he thought was enjoyable. The parts that bothered me were for example Mia's thoughts when she first meets Nell about how they'd need to clean her up. Or her comments later after they became friends where she asked Nell is she had a religious aversion to wearing makeup. I was going to quote that but I read this in hardcover and not ebook so it's not like I marked the page to later quote it in the review. Mia also makes a comment to Ripley asking her if it was difficult for her to choose between the white or the black dress because Ripley only owns two. Ripley doesn't really care for wearing dresses and I liked that about her character and while Nell does seem to enjoy clothing and makeup once she starts wearing it again I don't feel that the idea of doing so should have been forced on her by her employer. Both comments came across to me as catty and as a form of body shaming as if Nell or Ripley weren't good enough without makeup or extensive wardrobes. I don't think a woman should be judged or measured by her appearance especially by someone who's supposed to be a friend. I also don't feel a woman should be pressured to wear makeup or dresses if that's not her thing or something she does on her own. I think those are personal choices, all the power to those who want to spend the time on makeup and fancy attire, but it doesn't make another woman less so because she doesn't choose to spend her time that way or have an interest in partaking in what might be considered a feminine ritual. I'm pretty sure most of the makeup I own is long past the expiration date and I know pretty much all of it I bought was because of outside pressures telling me I should. It was never my thing so I don't like reading about a character receiving the sort of comments that I received in my own life that bothered me from someone who's not only supposed to be a friend but another of the heroines in this series. It's not very heroic to belittle the appearance of a friend or make an comment that sounds like they're not beautiful unless they're conforming to archaic social norms.
The second thing that I wasn't really digging this time as much as I did when I read this when I was younger is how new age the magic part of this story feels. It's not that I'm opposed to the witch as a character. I'm a big fan of kick ass witch with fantastic powers that they bring to a fight. I'm not as much a fan of scenes about which crystals and herbs apply to which desires. It's hard to explain. It's not so much that I'm saying that these scenes make the book bad, it's that I'm saying I just really wasn't feeling them and that's sort of a personal preference thing.
What I did like was Nell's story, how she escaped a frightfully abusive marriage and how she remade herself after being torn so low. The book has a lot of feminist commentary about how ridiculous it is to consider a woman's thoughts or feelings to be less than a mans among other things. I really loved that part of the story which is why the body shaming and focus on appearance bothered me that much more. I don't think I totally understand voicing opinions about one without understanding the issue with the other.
Overall it's a good book and most likely if you've never read this story before you won't even notice the little things that bothered me so much on this reading. I think maybe the fact that they did bother me so much is partially because since I've read it so many times I'm noticing little details and comments that I wouldn't have otherwise noticed. I do recommend the story despite my complaints listed above and I will be finishing rereading the rest of the trilogy.